Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot thinks Carol Ross Barney’s moment of distinction has been a long time coming.

“Congratulations to Carol Ross Barney, who just became the first Chicagoan to win the AIA Gold Medal,” Lightfoot tweeted after the 73-year-old founder of her own architectural firm with a specialty in government projects became the first Chicago architect to win the Gold Medal in more than six decades. Mies van der Rohe won the award in 1960. 

“Her stunning architectural work transformed Chicago's public spaces, and we couldn't think of anyone more deserving of this honor,” she added.

The Chicago Sun-Times reports Barney’s work is well-known and highly-regarded all across the state, including the Chicago Riverwalk,  Cermak-McCormick Place station, Lincoln Park Zoo Visitors Center, O'Hare International Airport Multi-modal Terminal and more.

With her firm recently picked to design a new 79th Street station on the Metra Rock Island Line, Barney’s work also includes the Oklahoma City federal building that replaced the Alfred Murrah government complex.